FINAL INVESTIGATION REPORT

Case #: 10-H-015-SH

Investigation:             Residential                  Commercial

Location: Surrey House Restaurant & Saloon, Harrison, MI

Date: August 21, 2010

Client: Amy Jo Bleck

Time at start of investigation: 8:00 PM

Time at conclusion of investigation: 12:21 AM

Total duration at investigation site: 4 h, 21 min

Investigators present:           Steve-Lead investigator, psychic

                                                Dee-Lead investigator

                                                Leslie-Investigator, psychic

                                                Terri-Investigator

                                                Mark-Investigator

                                                Terrie-Investigator

                                                Laurie-Investigator

                                                Kathleen-Investigator

                                                Gary-Guest (community relations)

Forms completed and signed:          History            Release Waiver

Description of location and surrounding area: 3 story building on

            basement located in downtown Harrison, MI.

Area history: Originally founded as a lumber town, with sawmills located on

 the shores of Budd Lake, Harrison is a city in the U.S. state of

Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,108. It is

the county seat of Clare County. Harrison is near the junction of US

127 and M-61. US127 actually bypasses the city on the east, though

a business route serves the downtown area. Clare is 14 miles south on

US 127, while Grayling is 40 miles to the north. Harrison is bordered

along its eastern side by Budd Lake.

Client claims:  Amy has been the manager at The Surrey House for 8

            months. When she first started none of her keys would work in any

            lock, but her staff was able to use her keys to unlock/lock any door.

            When she would try again, the keys would not work for her. This

            lasted for the first two weeks and then all of her keys worked fine.

            While painting she would frequently hear the ‘beep’ announcing

            someone crossing through doorways in the building when no one was

            there. Recently she reported being out on the roof top to watch a

            storm approach and felt a heaviness on her back follow her back

            inside and down the stairs until she reached the first floor. The

            bartender reports the feeling of water trickling down the back of his

            neck when he is alone in the bar area. Prior to our arrival, Amy

            received a phone call from a male with a warning, telling her that she

            should cancel our visit because the last time (ten years ago) that a

            paranormal group came through they opened a demonic portal in the

            basement and possessions were reported. Many staff members now

            refuse to go the basement alone.

Location history: In 1880 the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad sold the

            property on the corner of Beech and Second Streets to some

            prominent Harrison citizens. A hotel and tavern with a livery stable

            attached was built and called the Lockwood House. Later it was

            renamed the Ohio Tavern. Old bills and receipts found in the walls of

            the original structure indicated from the amount of glass replacement

            that the Lockwood House was the scene of some discord. For many

            years the structure stood empty and neared condemnation. Only one

            side of it was utilized, and that was as an outdoor movie screen. In

            1945, Edward Groehsl, a Flint businessman, bought the building and

            began the process of renovation, It was renamed The Colonial House 

            and was managed by Arthur D. Butterfield. In 1949, Omar and Lucille

            Austin and Lucille’s sister, Margaret and her husband, Leonard Baker

            became the owners. The rambling three-story white colonial inn was

            renamed The Surrey House, and for many years it was a showplace of

            Harrison with a state-wide reputation for fine dining. The property was

            transferred to Rumsey Swallow and then to the current owners, Brook

            and Kim Wood. A fire has damaged several areas in the upper floors.

            The Surrey House is considered to be Harrison’s oldest historic

            landmark and many famous individuals have dined there including

            governors, politicians, and television personalities. It was originally

            established as a boarding house and restaurant in the logging era.

            Rumor has it that during the late 1800’s the upper floors were used by

            “ladies of the evening” and it is possible that some murdered bodies

            are buried on the property from “solicitations” gone wrong. There is

            also a record of a 9 year old boy named Emery who died of meningitis

            in room 9 on the second floor who reportedly still haunts the location.

Weather at time of investigation:     Outdoor temp. 69.1 deg. F 

Dew point  64.0 deg. F

Humidity 84%

Precip. 0, overcast

Wind  9.2 mph NNW

Visibility 10 miles

Moon Phase  Waxing gibbous,

                      85% lit          

Indoor temp. averages:

Equipment used: 1 analog video camera, 1 digital video camera, 1 handheld

            infrared night-vision video camera, 6 digital cameras, 5 digital audio

            recorders, 4 PX boxes, K-2 meter, EMF/temperature data recorder,

            1 other EMF detector

Equipment placement: Analog video camera and 1 digital audio recorder on

            3^rd floor landing pointing down hallway, Digital video camera and 1

            digital audio recorder in basement covering rear and old cooler room,

            1 Digital audio recorder in Room 15 on second floor, Handheld

            infrared night-vision camera and 1 digital audio recorder on 2^nd floor

            pointing down hallway of older section. All other equipment hand held

            by investigators throughout.

Psychic/Medium perceptions prior to arrival: Leslie sensed Basement:

            storage; barrels from past, not now; could be a hissing or growling

            sound down there; something that could be demonic. First Floor: there

            may be some kind of poltergeist activity; chairs moved on top of

            tables; things moved. Third Floor: might hear walking, shuffling, piano

            music. Two shootings: one was an attempted robbery and the

            bartender shot the robber in the head. The second was a man hurting a

            gal upstairs. Could be a lumberman; Shootings, gambling, smoking,

            card playing; Some girls haunt the place; Some were hung. One, for

            whatever reason, was hung; Some girls died from botched abortions.

            People have seen shadows around, but not in any particular place;

            Sounds of doors slamming; Trembling; A train; A lot of drifters coming

            in; Sounds from attic. Never used or perhaps just for storage; Faces:

            The men all had beards and mustaches, especially in the wintertime.

            Lumbermen wore rounded, brimmed hats, not like a cowboys peaked

            hat. Shadows could be seen wearing this hat and coveralls; Mayor,

            head guy of town, frequented that place. Had his own table, his own

            area. Early 1900ʼs and year 1909. Name Sam; Things aren’t as they

            were when first built; Updated. Bathrooms added; Stuff happening in

            office. Don’t know if it is cold spots.

Psychic/Medium perceptions during investigation: Steve sensed a

            butcher in the basement, the spirit of a man coming and going through

            the porch door into the kitchen area, heavy energy of left over

            prostitution in room 15, 2^nd floor used as rented office space. Leslie

            sensed male spirit named Thomas on the upper floors, a portal in the

            basement, and the spirit of a little boy on the 2^nd floor, possibly two

            little boys. She confirmed that the ‘ladies of the night’ lived on the 3^rd

            floor and worked on the 2^nd floor.

Investigator personal experiences on site: During Leslie’s psychic walk

            through Kathleen, Leslie, and Terri heard shuffling sounds coming

            from the first room on the right on the 3^rd floor which is inaccessible;

            Terrie sensed anxiety which prevented her from climbing to the 3^rd

            floor even though she had previously been up there without incident;

            Laurie felt an extreme need to get off of the 3^rd floor access ladder

            and was then strongly ‘bumped’ at the foot of the ladder causing her

            to lose her balance. Laurie then thought she saw someone watching

            her from the 3^rd floor window when she stepped outside. Dee saw

            2^nd hallway door open slightly after Steve closed it. Later on Leslie

            and Laurie saw and heard the door open approximately four more

            inches and was vibrating. Attempted to debunk with no reliable results.

Investigation summary: Team arrived at 8:00 PM where we were greeted

            by the DJ from 98.5 and Surrey House manager, Amy. Amy lead a

            tour of the property (excluding our psychics) for history and

            paranormal claims while Steve and Leslie went ‘on air’. Following the

            client’s tour, Steve (along with Dee and Mark) took his psychic walk

            through supporting many of Amy’s claims. Leslie then took her turn to

            walk through the property (along with Terri, Terrie, Laurie, and

            Kathleen) and also supported many of Amy’s claims. Following all of

            the walk-throughs, teams were divided and placed as follows: 

     Team 1 (Laurie & Leslie) in Room 9 with 1 infrared night-vision

             video camera, K-2 meter, and 1 digital audio recorder

     Team 2 (Dee & Kathleen) 3^rd floor landing conducting an EVP

             session

     Team 3 (Terri & Terrie) Basement with EMF detector, PX box

     Team 4 (Steve & Mark) 2^nd floor stairway area and surrounding

              rooms with PX box, infrared night-vision video camera, and

             digital audio recorder

All teams were also equipped with digital cameras. Following 

investigation period, all equipment was gathered and packed.

Evidence review and findings: 9 EVP’s were captured during

            investigation:

·         2^nd floor Steve’s psychic tour-18 min, 27 sec says “Come up here…snow”

·         2^nd floor-55 sec says “Hold right there”

·         2^nd floor-14 min, 10 sec says “Hey” first in whisper, echoed in voice

·         3^rd floor-6 min, 24 sec Woman’s voice followed by a moan

·         3^rd floor-39 min, 20 sec says “Get outta here…damn”

·         3^rd floor-40 min, 23 sec says “You got me”

·         3^rd floor-53 min, 53 sec says “Take it”

·         3^rd floor-54 min, 48 sec (indistinguishable whispers)

·         3^rd floor-1 hour, 9 min, 22 sec Moan

1 photo taken by Dee on the 3^rd floor showed an orb in a doorway halfway down the long hallway. Photo of orb was taken directly after asking for a spirit to step into the hallway to have their picture taken. Many photos of this hallway were taken before and after this one, all were orb-free.

Final summary: PIRCOM would like to thank Amy and the rest of the staff

            at The Surrey House for allowing us to visit and investigate their

            historic property. The additional advertising by the local radio station

            was an exciting opportunity as well. Although the quiet time allotted by

            the client for investigating was limited, we are confident that something

            of a paranormal nature is lingering at this establishment. The reports

            throughout the years coupled with our psychic’s confirmations and

            audio evidence gathered during our investigation will hopefully shed

            some more light on the mysterious happenings at The Surrey House!

            We look forward to a return visit.

Report compiled by lead investigators Steve and Dee for

Paranormal Investigators and Research Council of Michigan

(PIRCOM)

www.pircomghosthunters.com